MP resigns with plea to other ageing Libs

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Pressure on ageing Victorian Liberal MPs to stand aside for new
blood has intensified, with frontbencher Andrew Brideson announcing
his resignation and encouraging older MPs to follow suit.

Mr Brideson, 60, the secretary to shadow cabinet, yesterday
became the second Liberal frontbencher in a week to announce that
he would not contest the 2006 election and to call for a
regeneration of the party's parliamentary ranks.

"I'd like all of my colleagues to think carefully about not only
their own personal futures but the party's future as well," Mr
Brideson told The Age.

Last week the former Liberal upper house leader, Bill Forwood,
58, announced his intention to retire, saying he recognised he was
"part of the party's past, not future".

Liberal MPs and officials are concerned the party will be
portrayed as "Dad's Army" in the lead-up to the November 2006 poll
unless several older MPs can be persuaded to retire. Of the 32
Liberal MPs in State Parliament, only 10 will be under 50 at the
election, nine will be in their 60s and one will be 70 years
old.

Mr Brideson, the member for Waverley Province, yesterday said he
had told his parliamentary colleagues as long ago as early last
year that "the party does need to regenerate".

"In talking to my local branch members and my parliamentary
colleagues, I don't think there would be too many who would
disagree that we do need succession planning," he said.

Meanwhile, state Liberal leader Robert Doyle and the party's
Victorian president, Helen Kroger, have moved to shore up the
position of prominent frontbencher Kim Wells, who is under threat
of a preselection challenge in his seat of Scoresby.

A group of young Liberals in the area have been gathering
numbers to defeat Mr Wells, 46, saying they had the implicit
backing of the dominant Doyle-Kroger faction of the party.

But Mr Doyle and Ms Kroger yesterday staked their authority on
Mr Wells being preselected.

"This is a democratic party, so from time to time you can get
the 'young turks' coming forward," Mr Doyle told The
Age.

"But it's irritating to me that one of my best performers is
being distracted from what he should be doing by matters that just
should be taken care of. Kim has my complete support, as he does
I'm sure of the state president and the state director (Julian
Sheezel)," he said.

Ms Kroger denied the move against Mr Wells had the support of
the Kroger-Doyle forces.

"That's certainly not the case, as evidenced by the fact that I
strongly support Kim Wells," she said.

Mr Wells, the Opposition's police spokesman, said: "I have very
strong support from the branch structure and I am very, very
confident that in the unlikely event I was challenged, I would win
and win very well with the support of the branches and of the
party's MPs."